Holy Land in Eight Days and Seven Nights
Day 1: Home - Tel Aviv -
Galilee
Begin your spiritual
journey with an evening departure from your hometown, on the
overnight flight to Tel-Aviv.
Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport. Exit
the terminal and meet your guide. Transfer to your hotel in Nazareth or
Tiberias, with a stop on the way at Caesarea Maritima, if time
permits (this depends on your flight arrival time). Dinner and lodging at
your hotel.
Day 2: The ministry of Christ in the
Galilee
This morning we visit
the Basilica of the Annunciation starting at the Grotto where the
Annunciation took place, then we will visit the house of the Holy
Family under the Church of St. Joseph.
Then we will drive to the Sea of Galilee to visit the Mt. of Beatitudes
where our Lord gave the Sermon on the Mount. Continue to Tabgha to see the
splendid mosaic of the loaves and fishes with which Jesus fed the Five
Thousand. Visit the Church of St. Peter’s Primacy and then go to
visit Capernaum to see the house of St. Peter and the Synagogue where our
Lord preached. One of today´s highlights is a boat ride across
the Sea of Galilee. We finish our day with a visit to the Jordan River to
renew our Baptismal Vows, then drive back to the hotel for dinner and
lodging.
Day 3: Cana of Galilee – Transfiguration
– Jericho - Jerusalem
Drive to Cana of Galilee to visit the church of the wedding where Jesus
performed the first of his signs, changing water to wine. Here couples can
renew their wedding vows. Next we head towards Mount Tabor, the Mount of
the Transfiguration and visit the beautiful Basilica and the rock
under the altar where the Transfiguration took place.We will spend some
time on this peaceful mountain for meditation and reflection. Leaving the
mountain, we drive via the Jordan Valley to Jericho, where we view the
Mount of Temptation and the Sycamore tree that Zacchaeus climbed in order
to see Jesus. We continue our drive up to Jerusalem and check into
the hotel for dinner and lodging overnight.
Day 4:
Bethlehem – Ein Karem
This morning we drive to Bethlehem to visit the place of our Lord’s
birth in the Basilica of the Nativity.
We will see the Grotto of the Nativity, the Church of St. Catherine, where
the Midnight Mass is celebrated, and the Caves of St. Joseph and St. Jerome
underneath the church. Visit to the Shepherds’ Fields, where the
Angels appeared to the shepherds who were watching over their flocks
during the night. In the afternoon we drive to the nearby village of Ein
Karem to visit the birth-place of St. John the Baptist and the Church of
the Visitation, where Mary came to visit her kinswoman Elizabeth and
proclaimed the ´Magnificat’. If time permits we will stop to
visit the Holy Land Model, before returning to the hotel for
dinner and lodging.
Day 5: Introduction to Jerusalem
After breakfast we drive to
the top of the Mt. Olives for a panoramic view of Jerusalem and a better
understanding of its geography and some of the key sites surrounding the
area. Visit the Church of Pater Noster where Jesus taught his disciples
how to pray, and then proceed down the Palm Sunday route to the Church of
Dominus Flevit, where our Lord wept over the city. We continue our walk on
the Palm Sunday route to the Garden of Gethsemane, where we find the
Rock of Agony where Jesus prayed before his betrayal.
Before going back to the hotel, we will have
free time at the dimly-lit church for prayer and reflection. This
afternoon we go on Mount Zion to visit the Church of the Dormition Abbey,
and then the Cenacle, the place of the Last Supper and Pentecost. Today we
also visit the Church of Saint Peter In Gallicantu and the house of
Caiphas, the high priest of the Jews, where Jesus was imprisoned for the
night and where Peter denied our Lord. After this we return to our Hotel
for dinner and lodging.
Day 6:
Jerusalem, The Passion of Jesus´ last hours
Our tour
this morning will be in the Old City of Jerusalén.
We’ll start at the Western
Wall, the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, including St.
Anne’s Church and the Pools of Bethesda. From there we continue to
the Judgment Hall known as the Antonia Fortress where Jesus was led to be
condemned to death by Pontius Pilate. At that place we start following the
Vía Dolorosa through the markets of the Old
City, praying at the Stations of the Cross: we reflect on the greatness of
His sacrifice, stopping at each of the fourteen stations of the Cross until
we reach the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. There we will visit Calvary and
the empty Tomb of our Lord, and the different sections of the church.We
will have free time at the church for prayers and reflection before going
back to the hotel for dinner and lodging. through the markets of the Old
City, praying at the Stations of the Cross: we reflect on the greatness of
His sacrifice, stopping at each of the fourteen stations of the Cross until
we reach the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. There we will visit Calvary and
the empty Tomb of our Lord, and the different sections of the church.We
will have free time at the church for prayers and reflection before going
back to the hotel for dinner and lodging.
Day 7: The
Wilderness: Bethany - Qumran – Masada - Dead Sea
Today we have a rather different
experience. We will drive to nearby Bethany to visit the church and the
Tomb of St. Lazarus From here we
drive to the Dead Sea area to see the caves at Qumran where the Dead Sea
Scrolls were hidden. We will also visit the archeological site there and
see a three-dimensional movie about the place. We continue to Masada
to visit the fortress palace of Herod the Great and the last stronghold of
the Jewish Zealots. Then we drive further south along the Dead Sea and
stop for a swim in the mineral-rich waters of the Dead Sea, renowned for
its healing properties, before returning for dinner and lodging at the
hotel in Jerusalem.
Day 8: Jerusalem - Home
Transfer to the airport, filled
with cherished memories, for your return flight home.